Today we started with a sightseeing visit to Trujillo but were starting to get our ‘birding heads on’. It was very quiet in Trujillo (birdwise) as all the White Storks have migrated to Africa for the winter. There were no Lesser Kestrel on the bull ring either as they have obviously finished nesting. We have seen them on previous years when we have visited in May. After a pleasant couple of hours in Trujillo we set towards Santa Marta de Magasca. As we travelled along the N521 we spotted a large group of birds in the air which, as expected, turned out to be Griffon Vultures. On our right, however, I spotted a larger bird in the air and we were delighted to find it was a Black Vulture, definitely a target bird for the trip. As we turned into the Santa Marta road the bird flew overhead several times giving us some great views and the opportunity to take some photos. Happy Days!
After our picnic at Santa Marta we drove through the amazing countryside adding Lesser Kestrel to our list along with plenty of Azure winged Magpies and plenty more besides.
Species list – Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Griffon Vulture, Black Vulture, Red Kite, Buzzard, Lesser Kestrel, Lapwing, Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Red rumped Swallow, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Wheatear, Great Tit, Southern Grey Shrike, Spotless Starling, Magpie, Azure winged Magpie, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Corn Bunting.
